In The Land Of The Free

Here at home, in America, things are pretty quiet and peaceful. Turning away from the problems of others outside our borders now is a chance to consider the good things we have to share within our borders. Good things to be sure.

I'll start of by offering my Art & Music. I created it for my role this coming Wednesday as Toastmaster at the weekly meeting of Twin Oaks Toastmasters. We have a club comprised of many races, religions, philosophies, and ideas. We meet in harmony and peace to further the positive aspects of our humanity by improving our speaking and leadership skills. I sometimes think of our club as the United Nations of Toastmasters, except that our version is functional and productive in its mission.

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I took some pictures of Hollywood Boulevard on Saturday during our lunch trip to Musso & Frank Grill (shown above). It's kind of fun to eat in the same place that so many movie stars ate in since 1919. The food is excellent too!

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A couple weeks ago, our friends, Ron and Tina Reints, came to visit us for a few days. I mentioned this on a previous home page, but today I published some of the pictures from that time. Ron and Tina are the other set of almost grandparents waiting for our daughter's delivery just a short time away now.

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Caryn Lazar Amster, author of the book, The Pied Piper of South Shore, Toys and Tragedy in Chicago publishes a monthly newsletter for those of us originally from the south side of Chicago. She is always looking for news to include in those newsletters. She may be contacted via email at Caryn Lazar Amster and she'll add you to her email list for the news. Below are several months of recent newsletters in Microsoft Word format for your pleasure, but be sure to contact her for more information, or visit her web site to order her book.

On my March 6, 2005 home page, I wrote about the idea of using inexpensive WiFi Internet service to replace expensive cell phone service. Interestingly, the July 29th edition of the New York Times writes it is a good idea too. Hopefully the idea will bring wider acceptance soon.